FULL VERSION 1991 - Seles vs Navratilova - US Open
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- Опубликовано: 20 май 2017
- Thank you for your gracious use of this classic match!
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PertSnergleman's Review:
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The chance for a fifth United States Open women's title for Martina Navratilova passed in the form of small yellow blurs off the oversized racquet of Monica Seles. They moved with the force of express subway trains while Navratilova, from her preferred station at the net, awaited the local.
"She was not only hitting it hard, but she was hitting it accurately," the 34-year-old Navratilova said after losing to an opponent half her age, 7-6 (7-1), 6-1 in 1 hour 6 minutes at the National Tennis Center. "I was covering the lines and they still got by me."
There was no question about the legitimacy of her victory yesterday, only an exclamation point of a second set following a classic first-set confrontation between baseliner and serve-and-volleyer, both for the most part executing their game plans.
As Navratilova had struggled her way through the draw, needing three sets to defeat Manuela Maleeva-Fragniere, Arantxa Sanchez Vicario and the top-seeded Graf, she appeared more conspicuous than ever in her position alone among the baseliners.
"God, I hope not," she said yesterday when asked if bigger, stronger teen-agers wielding powerful racquets would soon be all that's left. "I'm the last serve-and-volleyer, it seems. But even with the way Monica and Jennifer are hitting the ball, there's just not that much variety. Something needs to be done so that the technology doesn't run away with the game."
Referring to the future, and perhaps lamenting what she'd just experienced, she added, "Maybe if they just narrowed the court . . ."
Navratilova had done well to stave off Seles in the first set as Seles held three break points with Navratilova serving at 3-4 and another in the 10th game at 4-5. She did it with big first serves, which prevented Seles from swinging from her heels. But once into the tie breaker, Seles lifted her service return.
After serving a winner down the middle for 1-0, Seles belted a forehand pass down the line off a first serve, then reached low for another forehand pass, this one cross-court. The tie breaker was gone before Navratilova could regain her balance, and soon, so was the match.
Still reeling from the tie breaker, Navratilova played her sloppiest service game of the match, making unforced errors on all four points and getting broken at love. Still, there was one final chance, as a couple of aggressive Navratilova returns put Seles in a 0-40 hole in the next game. But a backhand carried long, then a forehand approach was struck long and Seles rifled a backhand down the line before another backhand winner and a service winner closed the window of last chance.
Walking off, she smiled slightly and clapped her right hand against her racquet. There was nothing left to do except contemplate her future, while Seles, with so much still to come, took one look back at what might have been. 
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All the what ifs, what ifs ! What we do know is the world never saw such power & angles from a player like Monica. Absolutely fearless !
In this particular match, I think the what if would have been if Martina hadn't been so mentally and physically exhausted from her previous matches. I think Monica would most probably have won anyway, but it should have been a much closer, more entertaining match
So true !
Steffi was more powerful, usually hit more winners even in the rare matches she lost to Seles.
@@carrerau7138 lol, ok "crazy Steffi Fan."
She put a bunch of lead tape all the way between 3 o'clock and 9 on that big ole spin machine Yonex and she swung for the fences early and often. The aggression and power she brought to the women's game was singular.
I've said this before on many other Seles-Navratilova videos but what's most impressive for me here is Seles' amazing balance. Even though Navratilova is desperately trying to rush her, Seles almost always looked on balance and was able to hit pin-point passing shots. Fantastic stuff.
I've never seen any woman's player that plays with the same fierce intensity
and will to win, as Monica Seles did. She put 110 % into every match, and
placed hard ground strokes with pin point accuracy. She inspired many people.
Thanks for posting these Monica matches. I used to have them all on video but it's nice to see them again. What a champion she was!!!!
Fantastic upload - thank you!! Incredibly "clean" match from Monica - all winners, virtually zero errors. Amazing!
Monica was something else, a powerhouse.
Seles was always so focused, kept her head down, did not celebrate any points she won until the match was finished.
The best teenage sports prodigy of all time? I think so.
Seles was criticized for her "noise"... hahaha, they didn't know what was coming in the likes of Sharapova, Azarenka and Sabalenka.
Monica played so precise and calm that she was invincible on hard surface!
Even in her 2 great years 1991/92 Seles lost in 6 of the 14 hard court tournaments she played.
God bless you Seles
It saddens me that Seles did not get more appreciation from the crowd. Some of the shots Monica played were truly stunning. Think Seles may be the birth of the modern female tennis player we recognise today. Shades of Serena Williams in some of her shot-making.
Worth remembering that at this stage of her career, Monica was deeply unpopular. She'd started to get a bad reputation at the French Open in 1989 when in her first round against Zina Garrison, she came out and handed roses to the crowd as if she was the star of the show. Many of the players found it deeply disrespectful and Zina Garrison wasn't pleased. It got worse in 1991 with what happened at Wimbledon. She withdrew, made no explanation for weeks, refused to take calls from the WTA asking what was wrong, then did a bizarre photo shoot for People Magazine, showed up at an exhibition tournament, and then appeared at the US Open wearing a t shirt with all the grand slams listed on the front but Wimbledon crossed out. It was later rumoured that she'd pulled out of Wimbledon to keep the number 1 ranking past a specific date, so that she's get a huge contractual bonus from Yonex. The general perception of her then was that she was a terrible egotistical brat.
@@th8257 I expatiated more lengthily on this very good point, of Monica Seles being perceived as "a terrible egotistical brat", in a more recent posting. She was at a point where every major situation was a new one to her and she invented her response, often pretty unpredictably, to the astonishment of the media and the public. A few events were enough to build her an image that was to stick to her for a long time
@@roobookaroo It's a very interesting period in women's tennis - that phase of Monica's life has been very much forgotten by many, replaced by the memory of what happened to Monica later.
@@th8257 We can distinguish four periods in Monica Seles's life and career.
- Monica I, when she was the teenage superstar, until the stabbing on April 30, 1993.
- Monica II, when she reacted by isolating herself, dropping out of tennis and competition, sinking into depression and embarking on a campaign of bingeing on cheap junk food as an instant consolation to her emotional torments.
- Monica III when she decided to return to competition and struggled as the only obese player on the women's tour to retain her listing among the top ten players.
- And Monica IV when she started inventing a life after tennis driven with a new mission - losing the huge weight and recovering her former svelte figure, using whatever means it takes. At no point does she openly express her views concerning a female interest in having children so as to give a new goal and meaning to her life.
It is a strange and fascinating story. In one aspect, a tragedy, in the Ancient Greek meaning of the term - achieving remarkable feats, and then letting "hubris" destroy your success and yourself for good measure. In another aspect, Seles is a good case for modern disaster psychology, how mismanaging mental health can lead to more serious damage that the accident itself.
@@roobookaroo Seles wasn't "obese", she was barely chubby. Lindsay Davenport was bigger than Seles.
Insane accuracy , insane gfoundstrokes,insane angles.Monlka iSeles the best ever
Agree 👍👍
How smart !Almost creepy
Insane.
Monica was pure genius at this time. She could carefully construct a point or hit her way out of trouble in an instant. I don't believe any player clear up to now had the ability to turn defense to offense as quickly as Monica could. Monica and Martina played 16 times on the tour and I was lucky enough to see 3 of them in person... all finals. Monica won 2 and Martina 1. I saw Monica play Venus in person and the sheer pace was blistering. The ball moves sooooooooo much faster than it appears to move on TV. If you live to be 100 you will never see another player like Monica.
@Max E You always act like Monica reined during a weak field. Let’s take a look at the top 10 when Monica was number one in 1991 and the top 10 when Graf won her golden sham…. I mean, slam.
1991
1. Seles
2. Graf
3. Sabatini
4. Navratilova
5. Sanchez Vicario
6. Capriati
7. Novotna
8. MJ Fernandez
9. Martinez
10. Maleeva
1988
1. Graf
2. Navratilova (32 yrs old)
3. Evert (33 years old)
4. Sabatini
5. Shriver
6. Maleeva
7. Zvereva
8. Sukova
9. Garrison
10. Potter
Any, and every, tennis fan will tell you Seles had the tougher competition. All Graf needed to do was get through some 30+ year olds to win her grand sham… I mean slam. 1992 was almost a mirror image of 1991. Where exactly is the weak competition?
What a lovely girl seles was...her grunting was irritating me at first..but i have to say i have become a die-hard fan of hers now..she is just so composed, matured and knowledgeable for a 17 year old
Interesting how perceptions change. Back in the early 90s, she was not popular at all with crowds or much of the tennis world. The general perception back then was that she was she thought she was bigger than the sport. I think a lot of it was because she herself was so sheltered by her entourage and got some bad advice.
@@th8257 I think she was unpopular mostly for her ugly game - a rat-faced grunter with jerky movements.
That her main opponent was a graceful blond beauty who used to dance on the court didn’t help either.
@@carrerau7138 "rat-faced" ? Truly is no wonder why it was a Graf fan that stabbed Monica, and why she proclaimed when she was told Monica got stabbed that she hoped it wasn't one of her "crazy fans." You are not doing any favors to Graf or her fans with horrible comments like that. You are a sad individual.
Both ladies were awesome, great players in our life time
Monica pre stabbing bs was so dominant from the backcourt
Hated in every tourney she had to play, yet still the best ever as a kid. One and only, Monica Seles.
Brainwashed tennis public listening to the media too much.
Teenage Connolly, Steffi and Hingis were better.
She was a crowd favorite in 89 and 90 when she first burst onto the scene, but once she turned #1 in March 1991 and at that point was beating just about everyone, she was no longer the underdog and the crowds usually are more for the other player because most fans want to be excited and see an upset; not the same player winning everything. This match was a perfect example, Navratilova was in the twilight of her career and the crowd viewed her as the underdog here and from this moment on Seles was no longer the underdog until after the stabbing, and that imo is why the crowds were always for the other player. Seles most certainly was the best ever as a teenager in the Open Era. Still to this day no one has ever won as much and as fast as Seles did before their 20th birthday, and if it wasn't for the stabbing she still had two more grand slams to play that year before she turned 20 years old.
@@jamesr2164 Teenage Steffi was far better.
148-5 win/loss in 1987/88.
Golden Slam in 1988.
60 60 in the FO 88 final.
Broke 6-time defending champion Navratilova in her last 7 service games in the Wimbledon 88 final.
That teenage Seles won 2 slams more (against worse competition) doesn‘t mean she was "better“. Far from it.
@@carrerau7138 Steffi was not better as a teenager, or she would have won more GS than Monica before her 20th. She didn't.
Monica with today’s racquets and strings would have been even nastier
Monica Seles is the greatest
🤪
I love you Monica ! 🤗🤗🤗😍😍
Monica❤️❤️❤️❤️
2:55 those eyes 😍
Striking blue eyes Monica 🤩
No kidding. She was a bit awkward-looking teenager. And yet so adorable. Then ferocious on the court
This woman should have gone down as one of the GOATs. Shame. She already had won over 50 titles at this stage. Insane.
Hey low IQ sheep?
Graf would crush and humiliate both Navratilova and seles.
Got it low IQ
@@bradhuskers man get a life, i'm sure you're a nazi
@@bradhuskers Better buy your own IQ imbecile! Crush Seles again???? LOL! If that's true, Graf would have never come down from her #1 ranking. But no, Seles CRUSHED AND HUMILIATED Graf! LOL!
Monica, apart from being one of the best players, is also a very nice person. I was lucky enough to meet her once, and she was warm, friendly, and happy to chat.
Explain dumbass, why couldn't she beat Monica in their 3 Grand slam finals?
Love it! GO SELES!!!
Monica ( 17yrs 9 Months ) Vs Martina ( 34yrs 10 Months )
2019 US Open Final Serena ( 37yrs 11 Months ) Vs Bianca ( 19yrs 2 Months )
Biggest Age difference.. ( 17yrs & 9 Months ) in A Slam Final..
1991 92 6 / 7 Slams .Seles was on a roll.She won the 1993 AO also....
6/8, not 6/7. You don't get imagined credit for skipping a slam you were never winning (Wimbledon for Seles).
@@douglasbrown5671 it’s not counted because she never competed. She won 6 out of the 7 slams she competed in. It’s not difficult to understand that statistic really.
@@pjw1980 Yep.
@Max E Seles didn’t compete at Wimbledon in ‘91.
@Max E the original post stated she won 6 out of the 7 slams she competed in. Wimbledon ‘91 is discounted because she never took part.
Martina didn’t complain about Monica’s shrieking in this match, but she made a fuss about it in Wimbledon next year?!
UK tabloids
She did
I can`t help but imagine all the fantastic tennis matches involving Monica that we
never got to see because of that awful incident in Germany.
It would have been her demolishing all of the competition just as she did here.
@@Ricky-mo6mv For sure. Monica was getting better with each tournament.
@@Ricky-mo6mvWhen Seles was #1 pre-stabbing she usually lost to Steffi. Was even demolished twice. They had 3 close matches then, Monica winning 2 and Steffi one.
@@jimred5700Actually she wasn’t.
In the last 12 months before the stabbing she had only a 92.1 match winning percentage.
In the 12 months before it was 94.0.
Sorry, those are the facts.
She was already on a slightly downward trajectory whereas Steffi was continuously improving again - from winter 1992 to spring 1994 (when her bad back caught up with her) and later in 1995/96. No idea how Seles could have stopped Steffi in 1993-96, with all her eating disorder problems plus a dying father.
@@carrerau7138 It is well known that the elite players gear their whole careers around the
Grand Slam tournaments. A player such as Monica regarded all other tournaments as
little more than top level practice sessions. In the years up until she was attacked she
reached 9 GS finals. The only one she lost was on her least favourite surface,..grass. At
all the other Grand Slams it was getting to the stage where it wasn`t whether she would
win, it was if she would drop a set. Monica would have swept all before her including Steffi.
I have always admired Martina's intellect, poise and athleticism but wow, Monica was on fire at the U.S. Open 1991!
Poor Martina. That was brutal - like a lamb to the slaughter. Monica did truly 'paint the lines' with power and precision.
The first set score really flattered Martina....
BUT: Martina can hold her head high - maybe the greatest player the women's game has seen. In an era when she and Chrissie had the misfortune to be up against each other in the GS race - she (and Chrissie) managed 18 (apiece). They totally dominated the game for a decade and a half. And, of course, Martina swept the board in doubles as well, year after year after year......
Worth pointing out here that Martina was exhausted here too. Monica would most probably have won anyway, but the match should have been so much closer than this. Martina said afterwards that she had "left her best tennis in the semi finals against Steffi"
Martina said after this match: 'Today I played the best that I could and today it wasn't very good, ' Navratilova said, bemoaning the demands of television that make finalists play the day after their semifinal. 'If I played like this yesterday (against top-seeded Graf), I would have been beaten yesterday. I left my best tennis there yesterday. 'At the same time, I think Monica made me play not as good as I am capable of. In the second set, she just ran away with it. I wasn't able to make a dent on her serves. One game was love-40.' The Los Angeles Times said:
"Seles was stuck on fast forward. She had 28 winners, only five unforced errors, won 34 of 43 first serves and did it all in 66 minutes. The second set was over before you could say shin splints. Navratilova, who won six points in the set, lost it in 21 minutes. The four-time champion chose a bad time for a slump. After shocking No. 1-ranked Graf in the semifinals Friday, Navratilova managed to put up only scant resistance in the face of Seles’ relentless, two-fisted assault. Navratilova played poorly in the tiebreaker to drop the first set, began the second set by losing her serve at love, then lost three break points in the next game to fall behind, 2-0. “I played the best I could and it wasn’t very good,” Navratilova said. “I had a chance and I blew it. That was about my only chance, really, to get in the match.” Navratilova won only eight of 26 points on her second serve, had more unforced errors than winners, could not break Seles’ serve and lost her own serve three times in the second set.....About the only thing Seles did wrong was to thank Donald Trump in her speech during the awards ceremony. She was booed loudly."
Monica was brutal in this match
Just like in the semifinals, Navratilova is a nightmare match for Steffi, Monica is a nightmare for Navratilova. Those passing shots are like lasers
Monica's game certainly matched up better against Martina than Steffi's, but Martina was perfectly capable of really challenging Monica on her day. On this day, Martina was exhausted from her previous matches and didn't have much in the tank. It's a real shame because a lot of Martina and Monica's matches were really thrilling. A brilliant clash of styles. This one was possibly one of their most disappointing, least entertaining matches.
@@th8257 I think Monica would’ve destroyed Martina with time though. She was so young and handling seasoned winners like Martina well already. Her game was very well suited to dominate someone like Martina who had weak ground strokes, and loved to come to the net. It was really enjoyable to watch though
Monica the top
That incredible passing shot on the second point of the match by Monica can only be hit by Novak. Jelena Gencic was a genius coach. Best backhands, best passing shots, and best returns in history.
The generation gap.. love it.. Great Champions. .
Coincidentally, I got to watch Martina's last match on Tour, when she won the 2006 mixed doubles at the US Open. So glad to have been there live at Arthur Ashe...
I have to admit that I didn't care much for Monica up until the point that she was stabbed (her unorthodox strokes) but imagining what that poor girl was going through while she was absent turned me into a Seles super fan
Seles.Graf Navratilova all born to play tennis
Martina just got to the modern racquet era, when new racquet technology and strings too make serve and volley such a difficult style.
She was the greatest … she was robbed
My favourite two.
thank you!
Now, everybody grunts!
monica is smthing special..now ostapenko won her 1 st slam at 20 age, that itself sounds so young in todays stds.. n seles won 8 slams , befpre she completed teenage.. before she was halted unnaturally.. 8 slams at teenage.. can u find anyone even near that today? really unbelievable..
What kind of English is that, sorry?
That happened because Selens played a bit different, and we know because she said she didn't like how tennis ladies played. Her aggressive approach was a bit different. This is why she won many as a teen, not that she technically better. How do we know? Other players was and watched. They adapted. Monica's double-handing everything would have eventually stressed out her torso and shoulders in the near (back then) future. It would have caused her pain soon enough. Her loud grunts were signs of that style of playing and signs of the unseen stress that would have come. It likely did, we just weren't told about it. But we saw it when Seles couldn't win any more slams besides one in 1996. She was herself and that is evident because she did enter and win other touring titles, and made it to some slam finals. She had what it took, but she didn't have what it took to win slams. Another thing is, because of her double-handing everything, other players saw that as a weakness and targeted it (All sports do that), making it difficult for her to stretch her body many times since it was stressing her body. Its no one elses doing but her own, unless we haven't been told Seles had/has a bad wrist. She wouldn't have won a whole bunch more but a few or handful more. The stabbing had nothing to do with this. Many athletes come back as their Good selves after injuries, after mental harm (as in Michael Jordan after his father was murdered), etc. As for you people against Steffi: as of the Ausie Open 1993, before the stabbing, Graf had a 6 to 4 winning advantage over Seles, and afterwards, or overall, 10 to 5. Your biases and prejudices fails you at logic ans intellect. You make it seem like no one can adapt, especially in single-combat or one on one anything: most did which is why Seles could not win another slam but one in 1996 since 1993. People, most, saw Seles' weakness, as mentioned above, a weakness Seles herself failed to see and acknowledge and change.
@@glorialyons4772 ; True Richard Williams was a fantastic coach for both of his daughters. Also, let's remember he was good enough to bring them to Nick Bollietteri's Tennis Center and IMG, which is where Andre Agassi, Monica Seles, Jim Courier developed and later Maria Sharapova along with many others currently! [Am thinking, Naomi Osaka and her sister were brought to Florida in the same area as IMG for a reason too!] Today , not so many who have their development and experience with Nick & IMG are publicized very much (How many know Denis Shapovalov and several other top Canadians have been developing and training there for years?!)
@@markuse3472 WHAT THE HELL YOU WANT IN ALL SELES VIDEOS, AH? WHAT THE HELL YOU WANT?
I feel so sorry for Martina. Her serve n volley tactics practically died here. With Graf she could do it especially with grafs weaker backhand, but with Seles she had to deal with both powerful wings.
y you feel sorry?i feel very happy she lost!lol
@@trevisrobotie924 well, to make you even happier, i am very happy Seles won!
Seles was lucky Navratilova was 35. Prime to prime Navratilova destroys Seles except on clay. The fact a super old Navratilova got so many wins over peak Seles says it all.
@@grantgoffin4774 navratilova was the more lucky one, Seles was not at her peak yet especially her serve. And Seles peak would never be achieved because a deranged nazi fan put a stop to her meteoric rise.
@@oliverjuria993 "Navratilova was the more lucky one", haha you Selestials are such clowns and fools, I love it. How do you think a 35 year old Seles would do vs Navratilova at age 17/18. She probably wouldn't even win a set on clay. You obviously know nothing about tennis if you think a teenager in womens tennis is less peak than a 35 year old.
Just love Seles!
It was always sad to see how a lot the fans didn’t even bother to clap and celebrate her win. Yes she had to beat fans favorites Capriati and Navratilova, but he was just better than anybody that tournament. She never got the love for the fans until after her comeback, sad to see why people didn’t love her much on her prime.
Nothing sad about it you see that all the time it’s just part of being a newcomer. You saw the same thing with a lot of the greats they weren’t not Warmly welcomed at first as they were beating favorites that were getting old
@@johniii8147 Exactly! Navratilova was the old guard on her way out. She was the sentimental favorite, what Seles would eventually become, as they all do.
@@jess4metoo It was pretty remarkable That Martina played at a high level as long as she did..
@@johniii8147 To an extent - Monica had actually made herself deeply unpopular with a lot of the crowd and other players. It began in 1989 at the French Open when she appeared for her first round at against Zina Garrison (Monica's first ever grand slam match). She came out and started handing out roses to the crowd, as if she was some opera diva and it was all about her. Zina Garrison was furious and perceived it to be very disrespectful, and much of the tennis world did too. It got even worse in 1991 when Monica skipped Wimbledon with no explanation for weeks - she refused to take calls from the WTA and then appeared in a very bizarre photo shoot for People Magazine. Monica then said she had shin splints but showed up at an exhibition event. She then showed up at the US Open giving a press conference wearing a t shirt with the names of the grand slams on, but with Wimbledon crossed out, like she didn't comprehend how disrespectful many people had viewed her behaviour to be. Rumours abounded that Monica had skipped Wimbledon to protect her ranking and cash in a bonus in her Yonex contract for remaining number 1. There were also people at times saying that Monica and her family were not particularly pleasant. Nick Bolletieri famously had a feud with them, and I remember Sue Barker saying when commenting on the 92 US Open final that she'd spoken to one of Monica's practice partners, who had said that Monica was not a particularly nice person. The general perception of Monica in those days was that she thought she was bigger than the sport, didn't respect the game, and thought it was all about her. She was very much the baddie in those days. It's a great reminder that many great champions are not always particularly nice people. It often requires a level of obsessive selfishness and ruthlessness that can make them seem very unpleasant. As one of Tracy Austin's coaches once said, 'The bigger the bitch, the better they play.'
@@jess4metoo To an extent - Monica had actually made herself deeply unpopular with a lot of the crowd and other players. It began in 1989 at the French Open when she appeared for her first round at against Zina Garrison (Monica's first ever grand slam match). She came out and started handing out roses to the crowd, as if she was some opera diva and it was all about her. Zina Garrison was furious and perceived it to be very disrespectful, and much of the tennis world did too. It got even worse in 1991 when Monica skipped Wimbledon with no explanation for weeks - she refused to take calls from the WTA and then appeared in a very bizarre photo shoot for People Magazine. Monica then said she had shin splints but showed up at an exhibition event. She then showed up at the US Open giving a press conference wearing a t shirt with the names of the grand slams on, but with Wimbledon crossed out, like she didn't comprehend how disrespectful many people had viewed her behaviour to be. Rumours abounded that Monica had skipped Wimbledon to protect her ranking and cash in a bonus in her Yonex contract for remaining number 1. There were also people at times saying that Monica and her family were not particularly pleasant. Nick Bolletieri famously had a feud with them, and I remember Sue Barker saying when commenting on the 92 US Open final that she'd spoken to one of Monica's practice partners, who had said that Monica was not a particularly nice person. The general perception of Monica in those days was that she thought she was bigger than the sport, didn't respect the game, and thought it was all about her. She was very much the baddie in those days. It's a great reminder that many great champions are not always particularly nice people. It often requires a level of obsessive selfishness and ruthlessness that can make them seem very unpleasant. As one of Tracy Austin's coaches once said, 'The bigger the bitch, the better they play.'
Navratilova's serve and valley, that's her specialty particularly in the grass court but Seles was unbeatable..
I could beat the shit out of Gunter Parche, Germany's favorite citizen. He stabbed Monica, was arrested, spent 40 minutes in a station, given 60 Marks, back was patted then sent home.
Mike Jardin,
No, you could not have done that. Günter Parche was well protected by the German government as a national hero.
Should have been executed.
What are you writing there you stupid person ? I am german too and everybody in Germany was shocked about that Parche, when one man from one country is doing something the whole country than is responsible or what ? lol
@@benthekeeshond545 well said man
@@WONGLER then you just let him walk and got a pension for life lol
As good as Seles played, Navratilova didn't play as well as she did against Graf. I think Monica still would have won but it would've made the match more exciting
It is hard for an old player to recover under the U.S Open 1 day between semi and final format. We saw that with Agassi numerous times. It is one flaw of the U.S Open scheduling. Martina also really hated Graf, so always found it easy to get up for her.
SELES ushered in the end of the serve and volley era, defeating the greatest serve and volley player Navratiolva in the most humiliating way.
you have to consider the age of the two players c 'on...Martina was in her ending part of her great career.
As great as Seles was (she would have been the GOAT if not for the stabbing, IMO), I'd say Chris Evert was more responsible than Seles for ushering in the end of the serve-and-volley era (Evert beat Navratilova more than any other player -- 37 times out of 80 matches, including a 6-0-, 6-0 drubbing at Amelia Island in 1981). Also, Seles really never humiliated Navratilova on the court; in fact, Martina was always a threat in their matches and won their last match before this US Open final, in straight sets.
@@fjosephgonzales6870 Nothing indicated that Seles was made of the stuff GOATs are made of.
Even at her peak she multiple losses against 15-year-old babies and grandmas in their mid-30.
She was the archetypical transitional #1, comparable to Austin or Kerber.
@@carrerau7138 Why are you here? Steffi is not in this video. Just go away you deranged Graf fan. We're here to celebrate Monica's win, not argue about the loser of the semis.
What a classic tennis match! Great quality for a VHS recording.
@Dennis Wilson ; What gives You the thinking it is VHS! Yes it certainly was not digital formats of today. In the later 1970's [video tape was still the standards in TV/Broadcast, though all transmissions of distance were done via microwave links, including satellite, which certainly were digital from an earlier time, due to the system designs were entirely digital [voice & video].
My knowledge comes from being a BSEE with DSP, knowledge, expertise and experience since 1978 with people who developed these systems in the 1960's onward. The Analog systems [including all public/commercial] video tape were improved via digital media formats then. Anyone remember the video disk [first released by Magnavox, then Sony and Phillips [Magnavox is/was a brand of Philips North America]. It rivals any video quality today, with perfect pixel representation in each frame- quality also depends upon #/frames/sec too!
Great champs.
How many times does this chair judge have to say, 'quiet please?'
45:55 so good Seles!
Ма душа од детета и међу најбољима свих времена. То наравно некоме није одговарало. И онда сценаријо и режија, као лудак случајно НОЖ у леђа Монике и КРАЈ! Ипак, БОГ СВЕ ВИДИ!!!
Monica IS THE GOAT
Yess 👍👍
i never see a player almost always , using with two hands (stronger beats)...the best of all time,,no doubt,,,what a pitty...
They used to play this much earlier in the day.
The Nadal with Djokovic groundstrokes= seles
That was brutal
Seles comes to court like a Warrior comes to battlefield. And it's not tennis but a battle she fights. Her aim: not just to defeat, but to KILL her opponent.
it is sad,that she lose it,after stabbing
What a stupid comment. Seles woud be ashamed if she read this. Coming from a country that was at war. Only an idiot could write this big time
But in the end she was a snowflake.
I mean, quitting the tour for more than two years because of a minor stab wound….
@@carrerau7138 That 'minor' stab was NO ordinary wound.
It was by an attacker intending to assassinate her.
It happened DURING a match.
The attacker was a self declared FAN of her greatest opponent (whom she had pushed to no. 2 place).
And most traumatic and bizarre thing was that the attacker was not punished. He was allowed go scot free (it appeared as if Germany-the home country of her opponent-- was happy that the incident happened).
Immediately after, that same opponent regained world no. 1 position and went on to win many GS.
It's very easy to to say minor injury. But what she endured and went through, was probably, more than any other sports person in history had ever suffered.
@@albertcheeni Yes, everybody in Germany rejoiced when Seles was stabbed.
Many were irritated that she survived.
You raycist.
This is the year I wished that Seles would have entered Wimbledon. I think she could have captured the slam, although she would have had to go through Graf.
LOL get fucking real. She lost to Graf 6-1, 6-0 and 6-2, 6-1 in their only 2 matches on grass, the latter one year later. And made it past the quarters there only once. Graf or Sabatini would have easily beat her at Wimbledon. She probably would have gone out in the quarters to someone like Capriati though considering she barely beat her here on a hard court, so on grass loses for sure.
Seles didnt enter Wimbledon since she knew she would lose and was fucking Donald Trump, he was in her box her and she thanked him during her speech. They were having an affair for a few months.
Blue&Orange I totally agree with you, she was on a roll in ‘91. I think she could have captured her Slam.
Sabatini would NOT have beaten Seles on grass.
Robertson Mirvish what are u on about with Trump....stop with the hating, if your black as I am you should know her country went through hell aswell
@@robertsonmirvish6732 but seles is the GOAT
Martina's slice backhand is no match against high bouncing heavy topspin of the modern game. It's a doubles only style nowadays. But more fun to watch.
The first set was the best played set that Martina played and lost. Had to be frustrating. Seles had the tenacity of a 1983 Navratilova.
Len Welch,
We can observe Monica Seles from any directions, Monica then was a true great athletic wonder girl. Monica was in any sense, a beautiful girl blooming into a very beautiful woman. On the other side, Martina was only half a woman and she was/is ugly.
@@benthekeeshond545 Half a woman? Homophobe anyone.
@timothy chung
I do understand that you must be really good with your English. However, you misunderstood what I was trying to say. By the way, did you just confessed that you have or will have kids similar to your wicked and evil curse? Have no worry, I feel bad for your sorry and corrupted soul.
Thats like watching Agassi - Sampras, skilled baseliner vs skilled attacker. Navratilova was so far ahead of everyone else ever trying to play serve and volley on the WTA tour. Unfortunately Seles never reached her full potential. I think she could have won more GS than Graf. I think that Seles would have beaten Graf more often than she already did with more time. Graf could get away with her Slice backhand most of her career, but against Seles it showed that at a high level it can become a weakness if you are uncomfortable playing topspin. And Graf, throughout her career was not comfortable playing an offensive backhand.
With topspin the ball "stays"(higher bounce) so your opponent can produce more power. With slice it stays low, it's harder to do so. Especially on Monica's forehand which was her weaker shot. I think the slice was more of a problem against the net rushers to be honest. The disguise i think was the problem for Graf, Monica was so good at that.
Monica's double-handing everything would have eventually stressed out her torso and shoulders in the near (back then) future. It would have caused her pain soon enough. Her loud grunts were signs of that style of playing and signs of the unseen stress that would have come. It likely did, we just weren't told about it. But we saw it when Seles couldn't win any more slams besides one in 1996. She was herself and that is evident because she did enter and win other touring titles, and made it to some slam finals. She had what it took, but she didn't have what it took to win slams. Another thing is, because of her double-handing everything, other players saw that as a weakness and targeted it (All sports do that), making it difficult for her to stretch her body many times since it was stressing her body. Its no one elses doing but her own, unless we haven't been told Seles had/has a bad wrist. She wouldn't have won a whole bunch more but a few or handful more. The stabbing had nothing to do with this. Many athletes come back as their Good selves after injuries, after mental harm (as in Michael Jordan after his father was murdered), etc. As for you people against Steffi: as of the Ausie Open 1993, before the stabbing, Graf had a 6 to 4 winning advantage over Seles, and afterwards, or overall, 10 to 5. Your biases and prejudices fails you at logic ans intellect. You make it seem like no one can adapt, especially in single-combat or one on one anything: most did which is why Seles could not win another slam but one in 1996 since 1993. People, most, saw Seles' weakness, as mentioned above, a weakness Seles herself failed to see and acknowledge and change.
@@markuse3472 WHAT THE HELL YOU WANT IN ALL SELES VIDEOS, AH? WHAT THE HELL YOU WANT?
I like Monica's haircut.
she s much more beautiful now with long hair and thin skin...
@@jonathanlemarie9278 Your personal preference. I think she is quite beautiful here with the boyish hair cut.
@@jansnauwaert1785 Dear Jan, I think she is much more beautiful now, with long hair and all, but I always was impressed by her game, how agressive and powerful she was for that time...
Now she is gorgeous, she could be an actress or more... but not like Gena Rowlands... like Monica Seles... One of the best tennis players of all times, who got stabbed by a madman, wrote a book and all...
❤❤❤ Monica
Poor Monica. At this stage of her career, fans were rooting more for her opponents (including her semifinal against Capriati before playing Martina here), after fans had been very audibly behind her on her climb to the top. Then again, that's pretty typical of tennis fans in general, unless you're someone as popular as Roger Federer or Chris Evert.
Seles was a giant bitch pre stabbing. And she disgracefully skipped Wimbledon since she knew she would lose there anyway like every Wimbledon she ever played, to fuck Donald Trump. And even thanked her fuckbuddy Donald Trump in her speech here, as he was in her box. It is hardly surprising fans were always against her at this point.
Anyway Navratilova was in her mid 30s and way past her prime battling much younger greats, and Capriati was 15 and trying to be the youngest to win a slam. Both were also American which Seles was not. Of course they would cheer hard for both over Seles. Graf unlike Seles was a very popular player, and the fans would have rooted Navratilova and Capriati over her here too, and did in the Graf- Navratilova semi.
@@robertsonmirvish6732 man i can feel your hate towards monica, i'm sure 100% you're a graf fan.
@@robertsonmirvish6732 Seles was at least as popular as Graf, but we'll never know for sure, of course, because Seles had an abbreviated career due to the stabbing. Seles' fans totally came back and were very much behind her when she returned after a 2-1/2-year absence post the stabbing. Although I respect Graf's accomplishments, her career decidedly benefited from Seles' stabbing, truth be told. Graf would have ended up probably close to where Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova finished in their careers, 18 GS singles titles each. There's absolutely no way Graf would have STILL finished her career with 22 GS singles titles if Seles had not gotten stabbed; it's nonsensical to believe that. Seles won 8 GS singles titles as a teen and was still a teen when she got stabbed AND was ranked #1 and still had not peaked (also, being a little older, Graf would have retired before Seles), so Seles would have undoubtedly won AT LEAST 2 GS singles titles per year until she retired. Let's pretend that Seles never got stabbed and retired at 30; that means Seles could have realistically ADDED 22 MORE GS singles titles from age 20 to 30 (11 years) to the 8 she already had as a teen, giving her a career total of possibly 30 GS singles titles (maybe a bit less, maybe a bit more), which would have made her the clear GOAT today and AT LEAST 10 GS singles titles ahead of Graf or more because, remember, Graf surely would not have ended up at 22 if Seles had NOT been stabbed. For these reasons, there should be asterisks by both Graf and Seles in the record books, because Graf's numbers were artificially inflated, while Seles' numbers were lowered by the biggest tragedy in sports history.
@@fjosephgonzales6870 "Seles was at least as popular as Graf" LOL fuck no she want. Not before the stabbing atleast. In their 5 matches in 91-early 93 the crowd was heavily pro Graf, it didnt matter where it was, in France, England, Australia. Seles pre stabbing was in fact the most unpopular #1 in history with fans. Now post stabbing Seles gained popularity due to being a sympathetic pity figure, since she became a nicer person, and since she was now a U.S citizen U.S crowds atleast rooted for her due to being American except when playing another American. Your Seles fans came back comment makes me laugh my ass off too, as Seles had almost no fans before she got stabbed. Most Seles fans are only Seles fans due to the stabbing.
As for the rest of your post you are full of shit as Seles fanatics always are. I agree Graf isnt the best ever, queenRena is so I dont care about Graf and your comments on her. Seles winning 30 slams though would have never happened except on Playstation. I do wish Seles would have never been stabbed only since her retard crazed fans like you wouldnt be able to have your wet dream fantasies about things that would have never happened in reality, and since yes Graf would be more than 1 slam behind Serena (that is the one thing you say I agree on) and racist black haters wouldnt be able to desperately try and argue Graf as being better than Serena anymore since they cant stand a black player as being the GOAT and not one of their great white hopes. Anyway back to Seles your "she would be guaranteed to win atleast 2 slams per year the rest of her career" is so laughably stupid on all levels in too many ways to even list. You seriously expect anyone but a Seles nutter to take comments like that seriously, haha.
@@rodelmanalo9063 No i am a Williams goddess fan first and foremost. And you like many bitter American tennis fans who elected racist pig Donald Trump president, are probably a bitter racist Williams hater who cant stand that none of your great white hopes- Maria Dopeapova, Juice-tin Cheatin, Graf, Seles, Navratilova, Evert is the GOAT and instead it is a black women from Compton, as she sent all your great white hopes into retirement one after another, even as they doped to try and beat her and still could not.
I like Graf well enough, but she isnt even one of my top 5 favorites, I like both Williams, Henin, Goolagong, Austin, Mandlikova, and Evert all more for starters. And while I am not a Seles fan I am sure I dislike her only 1% as much as you hate Graf.
as much as I love and admire Martina, for all that she accomplished in the game and for the game (where her personal life is regarded), I might just have a bit more respect and admiration for Monica Seles. You dont see players like Seles, often at all...and Im not talking about her unique style of play. Im talking about, "between the ears"...in my opinion, tennis is best played by players who contradict the pure beauty of the game, with a specific brand of ruthlessness...that contrast, in my opinion, makes the game tht much more intriguing to observe. And Monica Seles, was the most focused and ruthless tennis player, Ive ever seen..and Ive been watching pro tennis, since the early-70s.
To her?...her job, once her and her opponent walked out on the court, was to ELIMINATE that player, as soon as humanly possible. That was her sole focus, on her way to winning...she wanted you OUT OF THE WAY!. I would have NEVER thought it humanly possible for her to come back from being stabbed in the back, where a man really tried to kill her...and instead of folding like a tent, she went on to win yet another grand slam in Australia. Her focus, was just incredible.
There's a lot to admire about Martina Navratilova but also a lot that's pretty repulsive. Martina has always had an incredibly Narcissistic, self entitled, bitchy side to her. Apart from the appalling gamesmanship when she complained about Monica grunting at Wimbledon 92, she has a long history of trying to undermine other players. When Steffi Graf became number 1, Martina went round the locker room trying to get players to join a "Stop Steffi" team. It's easy to think that her complaining about Monica's grunting was "stop Monica" and she'd enlisted Nathalie Tauziat to do it too. Pathetic gamesmanship and bullying. Martina has also said some appalling things over the years about other players. She was very nasty about Conchita Martinez in an interview, and had to apologise to Steffi Graf after accusing her (falsely) of faking injuries. She also once said Serena Williams was a "drama queen". If anyone was ever a drama queen it was Martina.
Great post, guy. I watch a lot of replay tennis. Monica's matches are DIFFERENT, as you say. She puts her whole being into a shot, and yes, this is brutal, ruthless tennis, from such a sweet an innocent-looking kid.
What a shame that A-hole in Germany stole all that potential from her and us.
Navratilova and Graf would have played again in 6 weeks after such a minor stabbing.
16:14-16:16 the reason why Monica was the best of all time
Best of all time ? LOL , she also won the Golden Slam like Graf ?
Hey stupid?
Graf would crush and humiliate both Navratilova and seles.
You low IQ fool
@@bradhuskers Navratilova beat Graf in the semis. LOL. Point the finger.
@@WONGLER with the crap players she competed against in that era even a double golden slam was not impossible .... Seles also could have benefited from that weak era if she was a part of it.
@@iamrips2132 You call players from that era like Navratilova, Evert, Sabatini etc. "Crap Players" ? lol
❤Pozdrav iz Vojvodina Beocin ,Novi Sad ❤❤❤
Самая лучшая прическа Моники! И вообще она очень милая и улыбка просто солнечная. А вот теннис просто убойный, в чем-то даже мужской. Очень жаль, что травма от фаната Граф помешала ее блестящей карьере. Это ужасно ...
Great thrashing well done Monica. Navratilova was one of the women who complained about Seles at Wimbledon 1992
These two had some amazing matches, but sadly this wasn't one of them. Martina was exhausted after her previous matches. In the 4th round she beat Manuela Maleeva 7-6, 1-6, 6-2. In the quarter finals she came within 2 points of defeat against Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, scraping through 6-7, 7-6, 6-2 and then of course the incredibly tough semi final against Graf where she came through 7-6, 6-7, 6-4. Monica playing a very solid match here. Martina somewhat lucky to have got into a tiebreak in that 1st set.
I think Martina was the first openly gay sportswoman or public figure i knew in my life. I always admired that openness and how she carried herself, her natural confidence. Maybe that's why it was never really a weird concept for me.
wow 17 vs 34 years old👍👍
Najbolja na svetu nasa mala Monika Novi Sad
Just wondering whether you guys think that the serve-and-volley style of play can still work well against the likes of Djokovic, Federer, and Nadal (as a consistent strategy - in the manner of Sampras or McEnroe). I think it's good to possess that skill as part of one's repertoire, and that one needs a variety of plays (tactics) in contemporary tennis. But by itself, it's grossly inadequate. Your thoughts?
In one word NO
Can anybody here find out which camera company used the poster of Monica celebrating her win over Navratilova in this 1991 final, with the slogan "Take Home a Memory", the very ad she spotted during the 2002 US Open? Was it Canon, Nikon, Sony, Panasonic, Lumix, etc. Thanks for the research.
Canon
@@pjw1980
Wonderful. Thanks a lot. It's satisfying to fill the holes in Monica's extraordinary story, whenever it's possible. Not always.
@@roobookaroo she was actually sponsored by canon and appeared in a television advertising campaign too
Martina grew more gracious as she got older...Monica at this time was sooo young and precious..she could have been an all time great...
she is an all time great, she was only 19 and had won 8 grand slams, however, destiny had other plans
Seles would have won at least another 5 GS if not for the incident.
It's high posibility for her !
5!! Why not 15 or more. She was only 19 when it happened and she would have been mb 1 for all the 90's .
48:20 ff ...even 29 years later you have to applaud.
Such a shame that this match didn't reach the heights that some of their other matches did. Martina, by her own admission, had left her best tennis in the semi finals and was very flat in this match by comparison. She also tried a tactic of slowing everything down, but it seemed to backfire on her - it slowed her down.
The whole scheduling format of the U.S Open is ridiculous and unfair, especialy to older players. Players in their 30s won't make the turnaround effectively at all. Look at Agassi in the 2005 U.S Open final vs Federer, he put up an amazing effort but by the end of the 3rd set and 4th set have nothing left.
thanks for this. can you include the complete cbs intro with yanni?
The famous Seles scream that sounds like "ball...in!".
She sounded and swung that racket like a stone-cold Samurai!
After Navratilova complained about Seles grunt in her 92 Wimbledon semi final and LOST is when I HATED Martina as it was clear she would do ANYTHING to win. She never pulled that kind of shit against Evert and the crowd would not have put up with it. Now with Serena breaking all Martinas records it shows you Karma is always out there.
Haha. Evert was never SCREAMING at both points of contact. Ridiculous.
@@MrYonexguy63 Martina was out of line in the 92 semis...I lost respect for her after that match. Glad Monica beat her.
Why didn't Martina complain in this final? Martina tried every dirty trick in the book against Monica at Wimbledon.
J L I agree with you.
I was unaware of this about Martina. Did Martina complain to the umpire? Could the umpire do anything about it, in the first place? Martina was always a whiner. If she lost, she whined and came up with excuses. She was just a whiner.
she has records that serena never broke or came close to breaking
Legendary Monika Seles destroyed Martina one more time.Monika is the best of all time! That's all
👍 😆
It just so happens, I love Martina too, I love them both! I can't stand Graff plus even more Serena, the worst bitch on the sport, she acts as if she owns tennis!
I think Martina was dumb here. She kept on approaching the net but was passed every time. Still she didn't change her strategy
7-6 is destroyed? Sounds unnecessarily polarizing... .my God, she was 34 when she made this final.
Sounds like Monica is yelling Mauidib! From DUNE!
Little Mo ❤
MARTINA TIENE UN JUEGO EXQUSCITO, PERO MONICA SELES ES LA MEJOR DE TODAS POR LEJOS
Martina truly adapted to the modern game by the time as much as she could. By taking the ball early, improve her serve and to learn bh topspin. It was somehow easier as she was attacker by nature. Not so Evert. Unfortunately in this match Martina was completely overpowered by Seles, especially in the 2nd set. This match is also famous for being regarded as the death of serve'n'volley (although Edberg did win US Open with serve'n'volley in 1992).
And then Sampras won 13 grand slams after this with serve and volley. Maybe you should choose a different date for 'death of serve and volley'.
You may like to see one of the best serve and volleyers in the game : Pete Samprass
Not the death of Serve n Volley, Navratilova was slow in her 30s she didn't have near the speed or serve like Sampras to dominate.
Times have changed 100mph serve today in women tennis is considered just average. A lot of women now can serve over 110 to 120mph.
Brenda Shultz back in 1990 could serve 125 mph serves very easily though Seles never had a great serve until 92 but she never needed to , she could counter attack an attacker so easily with the reaction time . She was not as hard as a hitter as people think either. Capriati and Steffi Graf actually hit the ball harder than she did
1:01:06 "I want to say what a great country this is to live in, I'm so proud to be an American". Oh the good ole days.
As a commentator on British TV said after Martina said that 'But she still won't play in the US Fed Cup Team for them'
@@th8257 Hundreds of Americans don't play Fed Cup. She can love America and not play Fed Cup. The two are not mutually exclusive.
@@nreeldeep1 what a weird comment. Hundreds of americans aren't the top ranked American player (as Martina was then), and then making comments which might be viewed as hypocritcal. McEnroe and Connors for example always made a huge deal about playing Davis Cup as an expression of their patriotism.
Zapadnjacka zlobna nacija. Monika je najbolja igracica svih vremena
Mary Carillo talked during points back then too.
To shed some more light on the never-stopping discussion of what potential of super-play was lost with the abrupt ending of Monica Seles's dominance on the women's game after the Hamburg stabbing, it is relevant to quote here the statistics the young student-observer Jeffrey Murphy stated in "The biggest scam in sports history" (April 1, 2019, The Observer, Notre-Dame, IN., a student-run newspaper).
"Few athletes have dominated their sport like Monica Seles dominated women’s tennis. During the height of her career, she was considered virtually unbeatable. In 1990, at the age of only 16, Seles became the youngest ever champion of the French Open. In just a two-year period (from early 1991 to early 1993), Seles amassed a whopping 22 singles titles and made it to the final of 33 of the 34 tournaments she entered. Even more impressive, she lost only a single match in a grand slam tournament, winning six of the seven majors in which she competed. By the age of only 19, Seles had collected eight Grand Slam titles and secured the world No. 1 ranking with an iron fist.
The only player that could remotely compete with Seles was Steffi Graf. Prior to Seles’s reign, Graf was the undisputed world No. 1. In the years leading up to Seles’s arrival, Graf collected nine grand slam titles and achieved the unprecedented “Golden Slam” in 1988 by winning all four major titles and the gold medal at the Summer Olympics. Not unlike Seles, Graf’s early career was characterized by unstoppable winning streaks and virtual invincibility. Graf had established a permanent residence at the top of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) rankings until Seles arrived. Seles’ stretch of dominance brought Graf’s supremacy to an end. As Pam Shriver said, “[Seles] was dominating Steffi Graf, who, prior to Seles, dominated everyone else.” Can you imagine the frustration Graf must have experienced after being heralded as a contender for the greatest tennis player of all time only to be stopped by a 16 year old? That’s how incredible Seles was.
To illustrate just how ridiculously impressive Seles’ early career was, consider this: In Steffi Graf’s first 14 Grand Slam tournaments, she won only one. In Seles’ first 14 attempts, she won eight. At 19 years old, Serena Williams (Heard of her?) had won only a single Grand Slam singles title. Serena didn’t win her eighth Grand Slam title until she was 25. Still not impressed? How about this: Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer also didn’t win their eighth major title until the age of 25. Novak Djokovic was even older - it took him until age 27 to capture his eighth Grand Slam. By the age at which Seles had captured her eighth major, Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert hadn’t won even a single Grand Slam title. I provide these contextual comparisons to demonstrate that Seles wasn’t just another tennis superstar; she wasn’t just the best player of her generation. Seles was the champion of a century."
Wow! This is some dithyramb in honor of the young goddess from a student-journalist, with the extreme enthusiasm of his age - the same age that led Monica Seles to swing into her extreme despair after April 30, 1993. It's not clear what "century" Jeffrey refers to. The 20th century that ended in 2,000 or the 21st century? Or more likely some floating century including Monica's life? Or more simply, this is just said for literary effect.
What Jeffrey's comparisons amply prove is that, beyond any shadow of doubt, Monica Seles's EARLY adolescent supremacy in the women's game has been unequalled so far, and stands a good chance of remaining so in the foreseeable future. Monica wasn't just the youngest best adolescent player of her generation, she was the youngest adolescent champion of a century.
That augured very well for the future, indeed. But it still leaves us unable to accurately quantify which and how many overall future Grand Slam wins might have resulted from Monica Seles's play in the more mature phase in her 20s from the irrefutable evidence of the adolescent prodigy's phenomenal early dominance of the women's game. Many new factors were going to come into play, Monica's personal improvement, perhaps a more balanced mind with some more education about life off the court, a new coach more experienced in dealing with established champions than her dad, (whose continued coaching was turning into a weakness of Monica's set-up), Steffi Graf's own problems, new young gifted players, and many more incident details impossible to evaluate with accuracy. The best reasonable deductions cannot eliminate the important factor of LUCK, an unavoidable part of tennis.
@Max E Steffi at 16 years 33-9
Seles at 16 years 42-3
Little Mo could give that record a run. The first three undisputed and nearly unbeatable women's tennis champions were Suzanne Lenglen, Helen Wills, and Maureen Connelly. Maureen Connelly entered 11 slams, the first at 14. She won her first slam at 16, then won the next 8 she entered for a total of 9 -- including collecting the first women's Grand Slam in 1953. Nobody could touch her. She was forced to retire at age 19, but what would her career have been if her horse hadn't pinned her against that cement mixer? She was fast and hit the ball harder than anyone else of her era. The next champion who might have given Maureen a battle was Althea Gibson, who had always lost to Connelly, but hit her stride in 1956 and retired in 1958. The next (fairly) consistent champion after her would be Margaret Smith, who, discarding the AO, which at that time was mostly a local tournament, didn't start winning slams until 1962. In 1962, Little Mo was 27.
I agree that it is hard to extrapolate what the rest of Monica's career would have looked like. From everything I have read, before the stabbing, all she wanted to do was hit tennis balls and win. She had complete and total blinders on and that when she was stabbed, it forcibly took those off and the ramifications of what she had gone through just upended everything in her world. She was never really the same again despite winning another grand slam and playing well for much of her twenties.
But if I were to guess, I would say that she would have continued to more-or-less dominate the tour for the next 4-5 years. Her game was maturing and while I'm sure Graf would have found ways to win some big titles, I still believe Monica would have won a majority of their big clashes outside of maybe Wimbledon.
Given the way she was winning but also factoring in the possibility of a big upset here and there or an injury, I feel comfortable that Monica would have won at least 12 out of the 20 slams from 1994-1998. With the Williams sisters, she would have begun to win less. I still think that she could have been fighting to pass Margaret Court as we went into the new millenium. But that still means she would have had 20 grand slams by the time she was 24 years old.
@@TennisLover82 I tend to agree with this reasonable assessment. Monica Seles still had plenty of game left in her, at the top level. It's her juvenile brain and its irrational reactions, together with the unprofessional idolatry from her father that accepted abandoning training and playing for 28 months when she was just 19. The insanity of this decision has no parallel neither in tennis, nor in any other sport at the top level. She was a teenage freak in hitting, and she was a teenage freak in behaving.
Martina lost more tie breakers in the open than any other player in the final rounds. Only had luck in 86 Sf and 91 Sf against graf.